Food Packaging Material and Food Package

ABSTRACT

Provided is a food packaging material including an inner sheet arranged between a front sheet part and a rear sheet part from within a header part to within a storing part. A region of the inner sheet located within the storing part is arranged between the rear sheet part and food stored in the storing part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is the United States national phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2019/004861 filed Feb. 12, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a food packaging material formed using a sheet material, and a food package formed by packaging food using the food packaging material.

Description of Related Art

A sheet material formed into a bag shape is used as a food packaging material for packaging food. Such a food packaging material includes a front sheet part and a rear sheet part that are arranged to overlap each other. The food packaging material includes a pair of side edge joining parts each formed by joining one of opposite side edges in the other direction orthogonal to one direction of the front sheet part to a corresponding one of opposite side edges in the other direction of the rear sheet part. The food packaging material further includes a side-to-side joining part that joins the front sheet part and the rear sheet part to each other between the pair of side edge joining parts at a position away from one end toward the other end in the one direction of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part.

The food packaging material includes a storing part for storing food and a closing part for closing the storing part on one side in the one direction of the side-to-side joining part. The food packaging material further includes a header part extending from the side-to-side joining part on the other side in the one direction of the side-to-side joining part. The food packaging material includes a cut part serving as a starting point from which the rear sheet part is cut along the one direction (i.e., from which the food package opens), in a region of the rear sheet part in which the header part is formed.

In the food packaging material configured as above, a closing wall part that closes the storing part is formed by folding the region of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part that form the closing part in a state where food is stored in the storing part. The food package in which food is packaged with the food packaging material is thus formed. Then, a label or an adhesive tape on which product information or the like is printed is attached to the closing wall part to thereby retain a state where the closing part is closed (i.e., a state where the product is packaged therein).

However, the header part of the food package as aforementioned is constituted only by a part of the front sheet part and a part of the rear sheet part, and is thus easily deformed and easily displaced to the front sheet part side or the rear sheet part side (i.e., in a front-back direction) about the side-to-side joining part. Such a deformation or displacement in the front-back direction of the header part may decrease the visibility of the contents (for example, product information) on the header part, and impair the design of the food package.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2015-089829 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a food packaging material capable of suppressing deformation and displacement of a header part, and a food package formed by packaging food with the food packaging material.

Solution to Problem

A food packaging material according to the present invention is formed of a sheet material into a bag shape, the food packaging material includes: a front sheet part and a rear sheet part arranged to overlap each other; a pair of side edge joining parts each formed by joining one of opposite side edges in an other direction orthogonal to one direction of the front sheet part to a corresponding one of opposite side edges in the other direction of the rear sheet part; a side-to-side joining part that joins the front sheet part and the rear sheet part to each other between the pair of side edge joining parts at a position away from one end toward an other end in the one direction of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part; a storing part capable of storing food therein and a closing part capable of closing the storing part on one side in the one direction of the side-to-side joining part; and a header part extending from the storing part to one end side in the one direction of the food packaging material, in which the rear sheet part includes a cut part serving as a starting point from which the storing part is cut, in a region forming the storing part, the food packaging material further including an inner sheet arranged between the front sheet part and the rear sheet part from within the header part to within the storing part, in which the region of the inner sheet located within the storing part is arranged between the rear sheet part and the food stored in the storing part.

The configuration may be such that the cut part has a U-shape opening to the other end side in the one direction of the rear sheet part, and that the food packaging material further includes a cut tape arranged to extend in the one direction from a position of the rear sheet part close to the cut part to within a region of the rear sheet part forming the closing part.

The configuration may be such that the inner sheet is joined to a region of at least one of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part forming the header part.

A food package according to the present invention is formed by packaging food with any of the above food packaging materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a food packaging material according to this embodiment as seen from a rear sheet part side.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state where food is packaged using the food packaging material according to the embodiment, as seen from a side edge joining part side.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a food package formed by packaging the food with the food packaging material according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an end view showing a vicinity of a header part in cross section taken along I-I in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the drawings below, the same or corresponding parts are provided with the same reference signs, and the explanation thereof will not be repeated.

As shown in FIG. 1, a food packaging material 1 according to this embodiment is formed of a sheet material into a bag shape. As the sheet material, a material deformable in conformity to the shape of food to be packaged is used. For example, a colorless transparent resin film, a paper material, a cloth material, or the like can be used as the sheet material.

The food packaging material 1 includes: a storing part 1 a in which food can be stored; a closing part 1 b capable of closing the storing part 1 a; and a header part 1 c extending from the storing part 1 a to one end side in one direction of the food packaging material 1. Specifically, the food packaging material 1 includes: the header part 1 c on the one end side in the one direction thereof, the closing part 1 b on the other end side in the one direction thereof, and the storing part 1 a between the header part 1 c and the closing part 1 b in the one direction.

The food packaging material 1 includes a front sheet part 2 and a rear sheet part 3 that are arranged to overlap each other. In this embodiment, the food packaging material 1 is formed to allow a sheet material (having a substantially trapezoidal shape) constituting the front sheet part 2 and a sheet material (having a substantially trapezoidal shape) constituting the rear sheet part 3 to overlap each other. The front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 form the storing part 1 a, the closing part 1 b, and the header part 1 c. In this embodiment, a length between both ends in the one direction of the front sheet part 2 is made to be shorter than a length between both ends in the one direction of the rear sheet part 3. With this configuration, the other end portion in the one direction of the food packaging material 1 allows the other end portion in the one direction of the front sheet part 2 and the other end portion in the one direction of the rear sheet part 3 to be arranged not to overlap each other.

The food packaging material 1 further includes a cut part 1 d in a region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the storing part 1 a, the cut part 1 d serving as a starting point from which the storing part 1 d is cut. The cut part 1 d has a U-shape opening to the other end side in the one direction of the rear sheet part 3. Specifically, the cut part 1 d includes: a first cut 1 e extending in the other direction; and a pair of second cuts 1 f respectively crossing the first cut 1 e at positions away from both ends of the first cut 1 e and respectively extending from the first cut 1 e to the other end side in the one direction of the rear sheet part 3. That is, the cut part 1 d is formed to have the both end portions of the first cut 1 e projecting from the respective second cuts 1 f along the other direction.

The food packaging material 1 further includes a band-shaped cut tape 4 arranged to extend in the one direction from a position of the rear sheet part 3 close to the cut part 1 d into the region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the closing part 1 b. The cut tape 4 has one end portion in a longitudinal position arranged inside the cut part 1 d having a U-shape, and has the other end portion in the longitudinal direction located in the closing part 1 b.

The food packaging material 1 further includes an inner sheet 5 arranged between the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3. The inner sheet 5 is arranged from within the header part 1 c to within the storing part 1 a. The inner sheet 5 has a region located in the storing part 1 a that is arranged between the rear sheet part 3 and the food stored in the storing part. Further, the inner sheet 5 has the region located in the storing part 1 a that is arranged to cover the cut part 1 d (specifically, the cut part 1 d and the one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the cut tape 4). This configuration enables prevention of foreign objects from intruding from the cut part into the storing part.

The food packaging material 1 includes a pair of side edge joining parts J1 each formed by joining one of opposite side edges 2 a in the other direction orthogonal to the one direction of the front sheet part 2 to a corresponding one of opposite side edges 3 a in the other direction of the rear sheet part 3. The pair of side edge joining parts J1 each are formed to extend from the one end toward the other end in the one direction of the food packaging material 1, and formed to reach a position away from the other end toward the one end in the one direction. A method for forming the pair of side edge joining parts J1 is not particularly limited, and the pair of side edge joining parts J1 may be formed, for example, by heat-cutting two layered sheet materials, by heat-sealing two layered sheet materials at a certain width, or by using other members such as an adhesive tape or an adhesive agent.

The food packaging material 1 includes a pair of non-joining parts J2 in which the edges 2 a of the front sheet part 2 and the edges 3 a of the rear sheet part 3 are not joined to each other, in a region on the other end side in the one direction of the food packaging material 1. The pair of non-joining parts J2 each are formed to extend from the other end in the one direction of the food packaging material 1 toward the one end, and to extend to reach a position at which the corresponding end of the pair of side edge joining parts J1 lies.

The food packaging material 1 is configured so that the other end portion in the one direction of the front sheet part 2 is not joined to the other end portion in the one direction of the rear sheet part 3. This configuration forms an opening 1 g on the other end side in the one direction of the food packaging material 1, and enables the food to be placed into the storing part 1 a through the opening 1 g.

The food packaging material 1 includes a side-to-side joining part J3 that joins the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 to each other between the pair of side edge joining parts J1 at a position away from the one end toward the other end in the one direction of the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3. The side-to-side joining part J3 is formed to extend in the other direction, and has both end portions connected to the pair of side edge joining parts J1. The side-to-side joining part J3 includes, at both ends thereof, direct joints J31 in which the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 are directly joined to each other, and includes, inside the both ends thereof, an indirect joint J32 in which the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 are joined to each other via the inner sheet 5. The storing part la and the closing part 1 b are formed on one side in the one direction of the side-to-side joining part J3 while the header part 1 c is formed on the other side thereof.

The food packaging material 1 includes a joining part J4 in the header part formed by joining the inner sheet 5 to at least one of (in this embodiment, both of) the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 within the header part 1 c. The joining part J4 in the header part includes a pair of vertical joints J41 extending in the one direction (specifically extending in the one direction from the side-to-side joining part J3). The pair of vertical joints J41 are formed at an interval from each other in the other direction. The joining part J4 in the header part includes a lateral joint J42 extending in the other direction. The lateral joint J42 is formed between the pair of vertical joints J41. As described above, the joining part J4 in the header part allows the inner sheet 5 to be joined to the region constituting the header part 1 c composed of the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3, to thereby increase the thickness of the header part 1 c and enable the header part 1 c to be more effectively suppressed from deformation.

The food packaging material 1 includes a joining part J5 in the storing part formed in the storing part 1 a by joining the inner sheet 5 to the rear sheet part 3. The joining part J5 in the storing part includes a pair of vertical joints J51 extending in the one direction (specifically, extending in the one direction from the side-to-side joining part J3). The pair of vertical joints J51 are formed at an interval from each other in the other direction, and formed to have the cut part 1 d located therebetween. The joining part J5 in the storing part includes a lateral joint J52 extending in the other direction. The lateral joint J52 is formed at a position away in the one direction from the side-to-side joining part J3 toward the other end side, and is formed to have the cut part 1 d located between the lateral joint J52 and the side-to-side joining part J3. The lateral joint J52 is formed between the pair of vertical joints J41, and has its both ends respectively connected to the pair of vertical joints J51. This configuration allows the cut part 1 d to be surrounded by the side-to-side joining part J3, the pair of vertical joints J51, and the lateral joint J52, thereby enabling prevention of foreign objects from intruding into the storing part 1 a through the cut part 1 d.

When the food is packaged using the food packaging material 1 configured as above, food X is placed into the storing part 1 a through the opening 1 g, and the closing part 1 b is folded to close the storing part 1 a, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, a food package 100 as shown in FIG. 3 is formed. Then, in the state in which the food package 100 is formed, as shown in FIG. 4, the region of the inner sheet 5 in the storing part 1 a is arranged between the rear sheet part 3 and the food X in the storing part 1 a. The area of the region of the inner sheet 5 arranged between the food X and the rear sheet part 3 is not particularly limited, and is preferably, for example, 50% or more of the entire area of the inner sheet 5.

As described above, the food packaging material and the food package according to the present invention can suppress deformation or displacement of the header part.

That is, the inner sheet 5, which is further included between the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 and extends from within the header part 1 c to within the storing part 1 a, allows a part of the inner sheet 5 to be arranged between the region of the front sheet part 2 forming the header part 1 c and the region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the header part 1 c. This configuration achieves a higher stiffness of the header 1 c than the case where the part of the inner sheet 5 is not located within the header part 1 c, thereby enabling deformation of the header part 1 c to be suppressed.

The region of the inner sheet 5 located within the storing part 1 a (hereinafter referred to as inner storing part region of the inner sheet 5) is arranged between the rear sheet part 3 and the food X stored in the storing part 1 a to thereby regulate displacement of the inner storing part region of the inner sheet 5 in a back and forth direction (i.e., a direction in which the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 are opposed to each other). This configuration suppresses the region of the inner sheet 5 located within the header part 1 c (hereinafter referred to as inner header part region of the inner sheet 5) from being displaced in the back and forth direction, and can thus suppress the header part 1 c from being displaced in the back and forth direction. This can improve visibility of the header part 1 c.

The cut tape 4, which is further arranged to extend in the one direction from a position in the rear sheet part 3 close to the cut part 1 d to the region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the closing part 1 b, enables the region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the storing part 1 a to be cut along the cut tape 4 from both ends of the cut part 1 d as the starting points, and enables the region of the rear sheet part 3 forming the closing part 1 b to be also cut along the cut tape 4. This configuration enables a wider area to be cut for opening than the case where only the storing part 1 a is configured to be cut, and thus enables the food X stored in the storing part 1 a to be easily taken out.

The inner sheet 5 is joined to the region of at least one of the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 forming the header part 1 c, and thus the inner storing part region of the inner sheet 5 is joined to the header part 1 c. This configuration regulates the displacement in the back and forth direction of the region within the storing part 1 a of the inner sheet 5 as described above, thereby enabling the displacement in the back and forth direction of the header part 1 c to be more effectively suppressed.

The food packaging material and the food package according to the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also a matter of course that configurations, methods, or the like of the aforementioned plurality of embodiments may be arbitrarily employed and combined (i.e., the configurations, methods, or the like according to one embodiment may be applied to the configuration, method, or the like according to another embodiment), and that configurations, methods, or the like according to various modified examples to be described below may be arbitrarily selected and employed for the configurations, methods, or the like according to the aforementioned embodiment.

For example, the aforementioned embodiment has been described by taking the case where the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 are respectively formed using different sheet materials, without limitation thereto. The front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 may be formed from a single sheet material. In such a case, borders between a region of the single sheet material forming the front sheet part 2 and a region forming the rear sheet material 3 respectively serve as the side edge joining parts J1.

The aforementioned embodiment has been described by taking, for example, the case where the inner sheet 5 is joined to the front sheet part 2 and the rear sheet part 3 in the header part 1 c, without limitation thereto. For example, the inner sheet 5 may be joined only to the front sheet part 2, or may be joined only to the rear sheet part 3.

The aforementioned embodiment has been described by taking, for example, the case where the inner sheet 5 is formed to cover the cut part 1 d, without limitation thereto. The inner sheet 5 may be configured not to cover the cut part 1 d. In such a case, it is preferable that another sheet material separating from the inner sheet 5 be used to cover the cut part 1 d to thereby prevent foreign objects from intruding into the storing part 1 a through the cut part 1 d.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: Food packaging material

1 a: Storing part

1 b: Closing part

1 c: Header part

1 d: Cut part

1 e: First cut

1 f: Second cut

1 g: Opening part

2: Front sheet part

2 a: Side edge of front sheet part

3: Rear sheet part

3 a: Side edge of rear sheet part

4: Cut tape

5: Inner sheet

100: Food package

J1: Side edge joining part

J2: Non-joining part

J3: Side-to-side joining part

J31: Direct joint

J32: Indirect joint

J4: Joining part in header part

J41: Vertical joint of joining part in header part

J42: Lateral joint of joining part in header part

J5: Joining part in storing part

J51: Vertical joint of joining part in storing part

J52: Lateral joint of joining part in storing part

X: Food 

1. A food packaging material formed of a sheet material into a bag shape, the food packaging material comprising: a front sheet part and a rear sheet part arranged to overlap each other; a pair of side edge joining parts each formed by joining one of opposite side edges in an other direction orthogonal to one direction of the front sheet part to a corresponding one of opposite side edges in the other direction of the rear sheet part; a side-to-side joining part that joins the front sheet part and the rear sheet part to each other between the pair of side edge joining parts at a position away from one end toward an other end in the one direction of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part; a storing part capable of storing food therein and a closing part capable of closing the storing part on one side in the one direction of the side-to-side joining part; and a header part extending from the storing part to one end side in the one direction of the food packaging material, wherein the rear sheet part comprises a cut part serving as a starting point from which the storing part is cut, in a region forming the storing part, the food packaging material further comprising an inner sheet arranged between the front sheet part and the rear sheet part from within the header part to within the storing part, wherein the region of the inner sheet located within the storing part is arranged between the rear sheet part and the food stored in the storing part.
 2. The food packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the cut part has a U-shape opening to the other end side in the one direction of the rear sheet part, the food packaging material further comprising a cut tape arranged to extend in the one direction from a position of the rear sheet part close to the cut part to within a region of the rear sheet part forming the closing part.
 3. The food packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the inner sheet is joined to a region of at least one of the front sheet part and the rear sheet part forming the header part.
 4. A food package formed by packaging food with the food packaging material according to claim
 1. 5. The food package formed by packaging food with the food packaging material according to claim
 2. 6. The food package formed by packaging food with the food packaging material according to claim
 3. 